"Literacy pedagogy now must account for the burgeoning variety of text forms associated with information and multimedia technologies." - The New London Group
In the 21st century, even more of what the New London Group has touched upon is becoming a major part of education and the classroom environment. Technology in the classroom, such as the usage of smartboards and iPads, as well as the incorporation of the social networking site, Twitter, has caused a definite way in which teaching must reflect these 21st century developments. William Kist asks, in an examination of these digital literacies: “Can new literacies indeed ‘fit’ into how we currently ‘do’ school?” Attempting to reconcile the conception of what school should be with these new literacies is a pressing issue that should be considered both inside and out of the classroom.
"Digital literacy is the ability to effectively and critically navigate, evaluate and create information using a range of digital technologies. It requires one "to recognize and use that power, to manipulate and transform digital media, to distribute pervasively, and to easily adapt them to new forms". Digital literacy does not replace traditional forms of literacy, it builds upon the foundation of traditional forms of literacy. Digital literacy is the marrying of the two terms digital and literacy, however, it is much more than a combination of the two terms... Research around digital literacy is concerned with wider aspects associated with learning how to effectively find, use, summarize, evaluate, create, and communicate information while using digital technologies."
iPads in the classroom:
Chicago public schools have began to incorporate ipads into the classroom and have seen positive feedback thus far. It being demonstrated that ipads in the classroom have been benefitting teachers and students: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EV8M6P9st9Q
Results from the ipads in the classroom have been overwhelmingly positive in the schools that have begun to use them. Teachers and students are more engaged and collaborated with each other consequently creating a successful learning environment. Teachers are starting to adopt strategies and techniques to help adapt to the modern day student. The future generation can be consider the technology generation and it seems to be only a matter of time before ipads are seen in a majority of the schools across the nation. http://edudemic.com/2012/11/the-early-results-of-an-ipad-classroom-are-in/
Advertised as the "interactive whiteboard", Smarttech company invites people to "Join millions of students and teachers around the world who use the SMART Board interactive whiteboard to help improve learning outcomes. Combining the simplicity of a whiteboard with the power of a computer, the SMART Board interactive whiteboard lets you deliver dynamic lessons, write notes in digital ink and save your work – all with the simple touch of a finger."
The emergence of SMARTboards as a chalkboard projector screen hybrid allows teachers to project things onto a screen, and they can edit items on the screen using their fingers or with special pens. The progress on the board can be saved, or even exported to word processing documents so that students and teachers have easy and instant access to the information.
Ways to use SMARTboards in the classroom
Note-taking and brainstorming - students and teachers can write on the board, and then the comments can be easily saved and sent out to the class so that everyone can view it later.
Graphic organizers - makes it easy to draw graphic organizers on the board
Powerpoints - powerpoint presentations can be projected onto the screen and then edited by the students on the screen.
Pros
The computer itself can be controlled through the SMARTboard, allowing physical interaction with the computer
There are software applications that allow for expanded use of the SMARTboard
Work can be saved into a file that can be exported
Useful for presentations
Students who are absent can easily get notes
Can accommodate many learning styles through use of visual and multimedia sources.
Cons
Expensive!
Sometimes hard to write on and get used to using
Teachers often need to be taught how to use them for maximum success
Technical problems can occur and thus stop lessons
Projector is behind the person writing, so the person writing automatically blocks out some of the light.
New Literacy in the 21st Century
"Literacy pedagogy now must account for the burgeoning variety of text forms associated with information and multimedia technologies." - The New London Group
In the 21st century, even more of what the New London Group has touched upon is becoming a major part of education and the classroom environment. Technology in the classroom, such as the usage of smartboards and iPads, as well as the incorporation of the social networking site, Twitter, has caused a definite way in which teaching must reflect these 21st century developments. William Kist asks, in an examination of these digital literacies: “Can new literacies indeed ‘fit’ into how we currently ‘do’ school?” Attempting to reconcile the conception of what school should be with these new literacies is a pressing issue that should be considered both inside and out of the classroom.
"Digital literacy is the ability to effectively and critically navigate, evaluate and create information using a range of digital technologies. It requires one "to recognize and use that power, to manipulate and transform digital media, to distribute pervasively, and to easily adapt them to new forms". Digital literacy does not replace traditional forms of literacy, it builds upon the foundation of traditional forms of literacy. Digital literacy is the marrying of the two terms digital and literacy, however, it is much more than a combination of the two terms... Research around digital literacy is concerned with wider aspects associated with learning how to effectively find, use, summarize, evaluate, create, and communicate information while using digital technologies."
iPads in the classroom:
Chicago public schools have began to incorporate ipads into the classroom and have seen positive feedback thus far. It being demonstrated that ipads in the classroom have been benefitting teachers and students:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EV8M6P9st9Q
Results from the ipads in the classroom have been overwhelmingly positive in the schools that have begun to use them. Teachers and students are more engaged and collaborated with each other consequently creating a successful learning environment. Teachers are starting to adopt strategies and techniques to help adapt to the modern day student. The future generation can be consider the technology generation and it seems to be only a matter of time before ipads are seen in a majority of the schools across the nation.
http://edudemic.com/2012/11/the-early-results-of-an-ipad-classroom-are-in/
Pros and cons of the Ipads in the classroom:
http://info.lecturetools.com/blog/bid/57442/Pros-and-Cons-of-iPads-in-the-Classroom
SMARTboards in the Classroom:
"Twitteracy" (i.e. Twitter Literacy):
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00131725.2012.709032